


Creo

by jeejaschocolate



Series: Unus et Solus [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anatomical changes in regard to ABO dynamics, Background Femslash, Cute Kids, Domestic Fluff, Epilogue, Explicit Sexual Content, Intersex Anatomy, M/M, Magic, Marriage, Mpreg, Multiple Orgasms, Omega Verse, Omega!Ardyn, Oral Sex, Possessive!Noctis, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Kink, Soul Bond, Soulmates, True Love, alpha!Noctis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 16:24:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11809755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeejaschocolate/pseuds/jeejaschocolate
Summary: (Sequel to “Indigeo”)Ardyn decided on his own that he was ready. One day, he just held up the bag of pills and said, “I think I’m going to stop taking these.”By the time Noctis registered what that meant, he was already on his feet. “Okay,” he said, trying not to sound like his heart had suddenly started beating a mile a minute.





	Creo

**Author's Note:**

> I went in guys. I did it. This is something I actually wrote.
> 
> So uh...tags? Pretty sure this fic is the reason tags were invented. Pay special attention to the mpreg, since that's the main focus of the story. As well as the intersex anatomy part. Basically, this fic establishes gender as a psychological construct irrespective of anatomy. So there may be some gender dysphoria therein that's not explicitly tagged because it's not...the typical kind? Idk.
> 
> This all made sense in my head.
> 
> creo = Latin verb (1st conjugation) meaning: 1) create 2) bring about 3) cause to grow 4) produce/bear fruit
> 
> **Update 4/21/18: The lovely Jane L (jlavisant) drew [some gorgeous artwork](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/414048590046953473/421135267462774805/unknown.png) to go with this fic (beware, it is NSFW). Nothing hurts in this art T___T

“Mmmm…” Gentiana murmured, holding Ardyn’s face in her hands. “It’s already weakened, I see. Yes. The darkness is leaving you.”

Three years had passed since Ardyn became an omega and bonded with Noctis. Life had gotten in the way of almost all their personal goals—as life tended to do. The war with the Empire was now, finally, reaching a conclusion. The magiteck was weakening inexplicably, as were the numbers of daemons roaming loose across Lucis. And the daemons in Iedolas’s army.

Naturally, Ardyn’s presence had a lot to do with it. 

Without his guidance, Verstael’s control over his magiteck creations became…unpredictable. At best. Tenuous and shoddy in point of fact. Beyond that, Ardyn knew the ins and outs of Niflheim’s strategies. He could warn Lucis of each maneuver in every battle, letting the Kingsglaive and Crownsguard outsmart the MT army without fail. 

As a result, the Empire was on its last military legs. Iedolas—though heavily misguided and delusional—was far from a stupid man. Regis believed his old rival would likely surrender in the coming months, if only to get as many accommodations as possible. The council had outlined several reasonable treaty agreements they could offer. An agreement that would hold this time. For good.

So, with the battles beginning to wane, Ardyn and Noctis could finally address the changes they had begun to notice in Ardyn himself. Every day, Ardyn heard the daemons less and less. He felt the Scourge within him subsiding in a strange way. No longer could he perform many of the dark arts he had acquired over time (finding time slips, illusory magic, etc.). 

The Scourge had started to fade. 

To confirm this fact, Regis, Noctis, Ardyn, and Ignis travelled to Tenebrae to meet with Luna and get her opinion on the matter. Of course that meant Gentiana—an alpha who reeked of stardust and Solheim—would be throwing her wonderings into the mix as well. 

“I know,” Ardyn told her, edging on impatience. He wished she wasn’t so inclined to touch him. The ice on her skin bothered Ardyn’s flesh after a while. “I can feel the daemons slipping away. My question for you, Messenger of the Glacian, is why.” 

“And what's going to happen to him from now on,” Noctis added. He was sitting in between Ardyn and Luna, eyes glued on Gentiana. Who he hadn’t seen since he was a child. 

They looked great. No, better than great. Nearly _perfect_ together. Luna’s omega scent was mysterious and hard to discern. Something like Ulwaat berries and…nighttime. She smelled like a clear meadow after the sun had already set. Dark but serene. Moonlight dominating all else.

There was also something special about her scent that Noctis could not adequately describe. Probably because Luna was currently pregnant with Gentiana’s child. Their second baby, actually. The first of which—a two-year-old girl with wispy blonde hair and intelligent purple eyes—sat in the corner, playing with a set of wooden horses. Her name was Arboria. Noctis loved her the second he saw her. 

Tiny but happy. And so freaking smart. Exactly like Luna had been as a kid. 

Noctis knelt down to look Arboria in the eyes as soon as they met. He wanted to hug her or pat her on the head or something…was that what you did with a kid? He didn’t know. Noctis had not been around too many babies in his life. So instead, he awkwardly held out a hand for Arboria to shake. 

“What do we say to Uncle Noct, sweetheart?” Luna cooed to her daughter, smiling at Noctis’s predictable bewilderment. She always found that trait cute.

Arboria, slowly breaking into a full-mouth grin, bounced on her feet. Then she grabbed Noctis’s hand and pressed a slobbery kiss on his palm. “Pretty!” she cried, poking Noctis’s cheek.

Luna fell into a fit of uncharacteristically loud laughter. Noctis tried to be offended, at first, but he couldn’t help laughing along. The whole thing was pretty adorable and he really didn’t mind. Arboria seemed to like him. That made the prince (who, in a year or so would take the throne from Regis—a man more than ready to relinquish his duties to his son) incredibly happy for some reason. 

Ardyn peered at Arboria curiously. She tottered around on unsteady feet. Really, the whole Nox Fleuret manor had become the little girl’s playroom. Toys strewn about all over the place. Children’s books laid on the ground, open to random pages. Miniature socks in places you would never think to look. 

What a mess. 

Ardyn nodded wordlessly at the girl when she turned to him, but he didn’t make any more attempt at interacting. What could one really say to a child? Besides, he had no desire to be slobbered on or anything like that.

However, where Ardyn saw a tiny nuisance, Noctis saw beauty. He’d never seen Luna so content before. She wore her mating mark proudly, with a white choker covering just the top third of the bite for a small bit of propriety. Nothing else; no make-up to tone down the scarring on her ivory flesh. (Ardyn had never quite managed to take off his scarf, though he wore it a little more loosely these days.)

Beyond that, Luna positively glowed with the happiness of being pregnant. She kept one hand on her protruding stomach while they sat. When she rose, she cupped the bottom of her bulge delicately and accepted Gentiana’s hand in assistance. 

Her pale face, so used to being sullen, was now the picture of confidence and deep-seated joy. Noctis could have cried to see Luna looking like that—he was so ridiculously happy for her.

“The why is obvious,” Gentiana declared. She glanced over at her omega, who was sitting next to their daughter, gathering toys while she attempted to coax Arboria into settling down for a nap. 

“Is it.” Well, it wasn’t so obvious to Ardyn. And he did not appreciate being treated like an idiot—especially by the so-called Messenger.

“Yes.” Gentiana looked back and forth between Ardyn and Noctis. “All forces have a natural opposite. East and west. Fire and ice. Light and shadow…” 

Ardyn sighed. So. He had to sit through another one of these lectures. Riveting. 

Seeing his omega irritated (expectedly), Noctis folded his hand in Ardyn’s. He sent a smell bit of his own calming scent the older man’s way. _Just relax_ , he thought. _We need some answers._ Hopefully Ardyn could hear him.

Gentiana continued, heedless of their silent conversation. “Scourge has its own opposing force. That is, a loving soul bond. The one thing the Curse has never managed to dominate, since the beginning.”

Regis and Ignis glanced at each other. They had been expecting this.

“So you’re saying,” Noctis began. “That because we’re bonded, the Scourge is starting to go away on its own? Like, our bond is curing him?” 

Gentiana nodded. “Precisely. Under normal circumstances, a person afflicted with Scourge will find a path to purity less than a year after mating with their **one**. In your case, Accursed, because the daemonic force was so strong, it’s taking a bit longer. But I would say…” 

She paused for a long moment, closing her eyes. The temperature in the room fell almost ten degrees and visible snowflakes danced through the air. A sure sign of Shiva’s presence. 

“…maybe two more years,” Gentiana finished. Her eyes were dark—almost purely pupils, the way Shiva’s own eyes looked. 

Arboria clapped a snowflake between her hands and squealed with delight. She cradled it close to her chest like a favorite toy. 

“Two more years and it’ll be gone? …For good?” Noctis glanced at Ardyn. His scent ratcheted up into an excited fervor. Ardyn felt his own pulse quicken sympathetically.

“Mm.” Gentiana nodded once in confirmation. 

Looking over from the corner of the room, Luna made eye contact with Noctis and beamed at him. She nodded as well, seconding her alpha’s assertion. 

“The Astrals are pleased,” Luna said quietly. “They see fate turning in a favorable direction.” 

Growling in a fit of relief, Noctis grabbed Ardyn’s face and pressed their foreheads together. He grunted a few times to affirm his feelings, huffing Ardyn’s own scent, which was a mix of disbelief and creeping happiness. To see Noctis so taken with the news definitely helped. But, he could not avoid feeling skeptical. Too easy, he thought. Far too easy. After two thousand years of suffering, to be cured by nothing more than a bite to the neck…

…Although, to be fair, mating like this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Truly and absolutely. What else, what other magic in the world, could compete with this? What could make him feel even a fraction of what he felt for Noctis? 

If there was anything that could cure the darkness, then it made sense that the answer would lie with Noctis. 

After all, the alpha had already succeeded in changing him. Completely. Ardyn’s life these past three years was monumentally different from the rest of his existence. Love and happiness. Satisfaction. Pleasure. Warmth and acceptance. Unheard of things. Special things. Ardyn had come to know them all. 

He closed his eyes and reached for the core of darkness inside himself. It was there. He could hear the daemons whispering softly. For some reason, he wanted to talk to them right now. To hear what they had to say about all this.

He so rarely heard their opinions now. Sometimes he almost…missed it.

“What about the matter of Ardyn’s immortality?” Regis asked. Thankfully, someone thought to bring that up.

“He will become mortal,” Gentiana answered immediately. “The same age he was when he became afflicted. And the darkness will disappear like a memory. A wound on the mend.” 

To Noctis, that was a huge relief. He had been so worried about the idea of Ardyn outliving him, having to bear the burden of a lonely life without his **one.** Anxious enough that he literally did not talk about it with Ardyn, ever. The idea was too painful to talk about, and it made Noctis feel indescribably guilty.

But at last. Mortality. They could age together. Live the life they always wanted.

They could have it. All of it.

…And so, they did.

_____________________________________________

Ardyn had a chance to bid a final farewell to the daemons. Years later, when the last fraction of a shadow departed from his body. The final lingering piece of the Scourge’s consciousness. 

So you’re leaving. 

_Yes. It’s been fun._

Ha. For one of us, at least.

_Thank you._

Ardyn scoffed. You’re going to thank me now? Really? Me, the man you so loved to torture back in the day? Now I get a thank you? After all this time? 

_Yes. Thank you._

What the hell are you thanking me for.

_For the feelings. It felt good being a part of us. Soft. No teeth biting…no claws scratching. …just good. Tingly and warm. We liked it._

Ardyn sighed. He knew the daemons could feel everything he did. That they were aware of his love and all else. But to know that they had enjoyed it alongside him. Down for the ride, through thick and thin….

…You’re welcome. 

_Goodbye. Bye to Ardyn. Bye to Noctis. Those were the best parts. Goodbye._

…Farewell. 

And so they left. A stiff breeze into the night. Leaving Ardyn a free man.

Even though that conversation happened entirely in Ardyn’s own mind, Noctis told him that he could hear the whole thing. Which, considering, made Ardyn feel a little better. Knowing that his parlay with the daemons in his head had been real on at least some level all these millennia. And…knowing that Noctis got a chance to realize exactly what he had done for the daemons inside his **one.** Those lost souls denied their own chance at happiness long ago. 

“Goodbye,” Noctis repeated. He stared into the darkness of the night, watching some dust float upwards as it was carried by the wind. 

_________________________________________

In the end, all the predictions ended up being accurate. For once. Iedolas surrendered that year, establishing Lucis, Tenebrae, and Accordo as their own independent kingdoms. Dissolving the “empire” into one nation: Niflheim. As it was supposed to be. Similarly, the Scourge disappeared in two years’ time. Daemons become rarefied, nights were safer. 

Times had changed. Five years since Ardyn and Noctis mated. 

With the peace treaty firmly in place, Regis passed the throne to Noctis. They no longer needed the Wall, so the burden from the Crystal was much less now. Unfortunately, the damage to Regis had already been done. Aged before his time, Regis needed to step down for the sake of his own health. Still, he trusted Noctis to rule well. Noctis had proved himself to be a worthy mate to his omega, and a strong alpha. Love and reason were his guiding principles. Regis could not be prouder of him.

Also, Regis’s relationship with Ardyn was good. They often sat together throughout the Citadel and passed the time with thoughtful conversation. Regis was fascinated by tales of history. He liked hearing about his great-great-grandfather’s struggles. Details of the strongest ruler’s reigns. Ardyn could regale his father-in-law (bonded mates were considered legally married) with story after story. And Regis saw Ardyn as just another son (despite the rather considerable age difference between them).

Needless to say, Ardyn loved having an intelligent, enthusiastic audience. He genuinely liked Regis. For a lot of reasons. First of all because the former king had shown Ardyn such kindness when he welcomed him into the Citadel—into his own family—so readily. Never questioning Ardyn’s intentions. Helping him seek out answers to the cure for the Scourge. Listening and granting all Ardyn’s personal request with hesitation, in the hopes that Ardyn could grow comfortable there. And he had. The Citadel was his home now. He liked it. 

Beyond that, Ardyn saw Regis as a curious figure. Clearly wise; the kind of man who teased out solutions as the natural progression to any problems that arose. Emotionally, Regis was beholden to the loves in his life: Kingdom and family. These two things were inextricably linked in his way of thinking.

Regis often spoke about his departed **one.**

“Aulea oversaw the creation of the royal gardens, did I tell you?”

The two of them sat in the inner courtyard, called the “royal sanctuary.” A kind of decorative greenhouse. Ardyn came here to sit in the nature and recline. Soaking up sun without pain or hindrance. Regis would join him from time to time.

“No, I don’t believe so,” Ardyn replied. 

Nodding, Regis took a sip of tea and continued. “Indeed. The royal sanctuary was a sitting room with a high skylight before she came. But Aulea always had something of a green thumb. She hated to see wasted space like that. She just wanted to bring life wherever she went. And so…the gardens.” 

The look in Regis’s eyes seemed distant. As if he were staring at something far away, a memory or a scene playing itself out in his mind. The former king was prone to long stretches of nostalgia now that he had passed on the throne. His mind sometimes wandered and he found himself absorbed in the past.

But Regis never emerged from these daydreams anything less than content. He smiled back at Ardyn after a while, pleasantly remembering his son-in-law's presence. 

Ardyn was used to the periods of contemplative silence; they did not bother him. Instead, Ardyn used the silence to meditate on the former king’s connection to his **one.** What did it feel like to lose the soul bond? At the moment of death…did the bond sever? Ardyn shivered to even think about such a thing. How horrible. His own soul would probably not survive the separation. Ardyn had gotten accustomed to being a pair, two people moving as one. To suddenly lose his other half…unthinkable. All of his instincts lurched in fear at the thought.

Never mind having to linger through the years as a severed mate. That sounded like a special kind of hell. 

“I don’t know how you’ve done it,” Ardyn admitted quietly. 

Regis’s cobalt eyes slid over to his son-in-law. “You mean…?” 

“Living without her.” 

“Ah.” 

Fresh silence settled over them both. Ardyn hoped Regis saw his words for what they were: The closest the former immortal would ever come to openly complimenting Regis for his emotional strength. A hint at the truth that Ardyn was, in many ways, awed by his father-in-law. 

After a short time, Regis spoke again. “It’s easier with children. The pain, I mean. It’s easier to bear when…you have something to live for.”

Ardyn tilted his head to the side. A quiet gesture that meant he wanted to hear more. 

“Some _one_ , I should say.” Regis swirled his tea and smiled at Ardyn. A soft, knowing smile. “A small child who depends on you for everything. Who’s hurting just as much as you are and needs your love even more now that she’s gone. Noctis is what kept me going. Without any doubt.” 

What a thought. Ardyn knew how much Regis loved his son. That was an obvious read, ever since the beginning. But the idea that he needed Noctis to keep him together after Aulea passed…a kind of mutual dependency. 

Interesting. Ardyn had never considered that before. The kind of strength it took to raise a child—he could sort of imagine that. But deriving a sense of meaning from your connection to your child…the thought never occurred to him.

In his time, baby-making was a matter of succession and birthrights. Not necessarily a matter of love.

For Regis, it was different.

“Having a child is…” Regis touched a hand to his forehead, unsure how to continue. “…it’s difficult to describe. But in a way, your child is like an extension of the connection you have with your **one.** Like…something beautiful that came from your bond.”

The old man looked around. He smiled. “Like these flowers, in a way. They’re here now because of Aulea. She’s the one who created them. And now, even though she’s gone, I can look at them all I want. They’re beautiful and they were a part of her.” He nodded. “It’s the same with Noctis. I can feel a part of her in him. A piece of our connection. It’s always been there. Every time I’m with him I can sense our soul bond…almost like she’s still here, sort of.” 

Regis frowned. “And having Noctis around, knowing that he is mine just as much as he is hers, it’s…wonderful. Beyond words honestly.”

They both absorbed those words for a while. A good stretch of mutual quiet. 

“I apologize,” Regis said suddenly, breaking the calm. “I’m rambling, aren’t I? Forgive me. I’m turning into an old man these days, I think.” He laughed lightly to resettle the mood.

Ardyn waved his hand at the idea. “Not at all. It’s fine. I…well…” 

He wanted to say that Regis had given him a lot to think about. Especially with all the not-so-subtle hints Noctis had been dropping lately. Comments about how Ardyn was healed now and when he was ready they should ‘you know.’ ‘You know’ meaning try to have children. So far, Ardyn had pointedly ignored all the hints, acting as though he had absolutely no interest in the subject. 

But the truth was…recently Ardyn had been…considering. Things.

“I appreciate your patience," Regis replied, painfully polite as always. “And never mind what I said. I’m sure you’ll see for yourself what it’s like to have a child of your own some day. Maybe you’ll be able to explain it better than I can.” He laughed again in good nature. 

Ardyn said nothing, glad to be off the hook for an answer right now. 

But yes. Maybe he would.

____________________________________________________

Ardyn decided on his own that he was ready. 

One day, he just held up the bag of pills and said to his mate, “I think I’m going to stop taking these.”

By the time Noctis registered what that meant, he was already on his feet. “Okay,” he said, trying not to sound like his heart had suddenly started beating a mile a minute.

They were sitting in their bedroom, what had served as their mating nest several times over by now. Almost six years after the start of their relationship. Noctis was taking a weekend off from kinghood, choosing to spend it with Ardyn alone instead of his pack. Well, _their_ pack. Ardyn had slowly but surely tiptoed his way into their pack bond over the years. Now the five of them operated fairly well together. But the other three knew when to give the mated pair some space. 

Noctis had grown a fair amount of scruff around his face the past few months. It made him look older. More respectable in the eyes of the kingdom. A thin beard and a hearty alpha scent went quite nicely together. Ardyn had no complaints—he thought his **one** looked gorgeous with some facial hair. 

Not a boy any longer. More of a man.

Basically, it turned Ardyn on. A lot. Especially because he had been there for the development. He watched Noctis slowly mature into the man he was meant to be. Nothing could be sexier than that. Experiencing someone’s life alongside them.

Ardyn put the pouch of birth control pills in the top drawer. He turned off the alarm on his phone reminding him to take them. Even while knowing they were only a few days away from Ardyn’s next heat—the best, most successful time to conceive. All to show Noctis he was serious about this.

Ardyn had made up his mind. The way he saw it, now that he was mortal, his body was already old. Very old. Noctis wanted children, no doubt about that. Ardyn did too, even though he still felt like he could wait a bit longer. 

He knew himself. The idea of fathering a child was terrifying. The full responsibility of a new life—you were creating a life from scratch and putting a piece of your soul into it. So reckless it was almost idiotic! 

Along with the messes. He remembered Nox Fleuret manor quite well. The diapers. The toys. The crying and sleepless nights. The…growing. Puberty and all that. Ah yes. Fun. Right. 

But what Regis said… After that, Ardyn considered the idea that a child was something like an insurance policy. If anything ever happened to him or Noctis, the other would not be left totally alone. Secretly, Ardyn would always live in fear of loneliness. Such was the burden of deep love, he supposed. Fear of losing it. And he would never be able to rest in peace after leaving Noctis on his own. So, better to have a child to spread out the intense solidarity of their soul bond.

Besides. If they waited until Ardyn was absolutely ready, they would never do this. Literally never. 

So, better to grab the bull by the horns. …Metaphorically speaking (although yes, Ardyn would be grabbing his bull’s…but anyway). Take charge and start the process. Might as well. At least then they could say they were taking steps to produce an heir for the kingdom. Which people would love, too. (Not that Ardyn gave a shit about them. But Noctis liked good publicity.) 

Noctis walked up behind his love and wrapped his arms around the omega’s waist. He nuzzled his face in Ardyn’s unruly red hair, breathing the scent of stubbornness and determination—which he fucking loved, especially if it was about this—and said, “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure. I’ve…given it a lot of thought.” Ardyn returned the affection by stroking his fingers along Noctis’s hands, lacing their fingers together.

All at once, a million emotions ran through the king. He wanted to jump up and down in excitement, to shake Ardyn by the shoulders and ask if he was crazy (how could he trust Noctis to do something like this?), or to get down on his knees and cry. He was so _proud_ of Ardyn for wanting to try. So proud and so fucking scared.

Swallowing a sudden rush of nerves, Noctis hesitantly said, “So…I can…go get some books for us, or something. Maybe ask Ignis to help me with some research…like you might need to take vitamins or something—”

“No.” Ardyn shook his head. “It’s fine. Let’s just…keep on as we are for now.”

This is where he would draw the line. Researching into the specifics of pregnancy and all that would only kill his confidence. Ardyn didn’t want to know anything beforehand. He would go into it relying on his own wits, as always. 

Although, to Noctis’s point, they might need some…extra support. It was more difficult for male omegas to conceive (what with the differences in internal anatomy between male and female omegas, certain parts in different places, and lower birthrates overall). Furthermore, male omegas’ pregnancies tended to be harder. Generally more precarious, with more complications throughout. At risk births and things like that. So, the two of them might be headed down a long road.

Although Ardyn knew that, he did not want to do anything extra. Not yet, anyway. To him, it felt like forcing the issue. If his body was meant to go through this, then he would let it do what it naturally needed to do. 

…That said, if they had a lot of problems, Ardyn might consider taking the vitamins. He could do that, he supposed.

Going into heat felt different after that discussion. The same, mostly, (though none of his heats were ever as bad as the agony of that first time, being so painfully insatiable and desperate). But a little more meaningful. 

They weren’t just having sex to satisfy their own needs anymore. 

It was…intense.

Noctis couldn’t stop thinking about it. He fucked Ardyn into the mattress, imagining that every time, every round, was _the_ round. The time that would give them a baby. 

He wanted Ardyn to have an orgasm right at the exact moment Noctis made him pregnant. That’s what he wanted his husband to experience. Some kind of ultimate pleasure when Noctis made him conceive—a sign that they had succeeded. It would be so perfect…and having an orgasm had to help the process along, right?

Noctis didn’t know. But he sure as hell pretended. So, he made it his mission to give his omega a series of endless climaxes. As many as possible. Nonstop, if he could. Just to make sure.

On his end, Ardyn didn’t have much time to think. His heat-addled mind kept dissolving in pleasure each time Noctis brought him over the edge. Again and again. Without pause. Like Noctis was trying to fill him to the brim, to make him lose his mind, until all Ardyn could ever want was to be filled again. Just right. By his **one.**

It felt so unfairly good. Flawless. The quintessential heat experience. The kind of thing every omega was bred to do. 

Ardyn felt open and ready. Fucking _ready._

“I’m ready, Noct…!” he mumbled semi-coherently. “I’m so ready for it…!”

“Are you?” Noctis growled. He gripped his husband’s hips and thrust into him from above. “Cuz I’m gonna give it to you. Right here. Unh….yeah…right now…”

“Yes, do it…!” 

“…You want it…?”

“Yes! Noctis, fuck—!" 

“Here it is…oh, yeah, Ardyn…I love you so much…take it…!” 

….

After a full week of that, Ardyn was so sore he wanted to give up his heats for the next few months. His body needed a damn rest! But then again…if Noctis gave a repeat performance of that…well. Ardyn might be able to manage. How could he say no?

_________________________________________

A short while after that, Ardyn noticed something strange. Not just an interesting little change—no. An alarming difference. Serious and possibly…unhealthy or else…medically unsound? 

He had gained a completely new piece of anatomy.

He found it in the shower. Not expecting anything other than the typical parts of his body Ardyn had been familiar with his whole life. Face, chest, stomach, legs, ass…cock, balls, and behind….

What?

There, tucked ever-so-gently behind his shrunken ballsack was a thin slit. A small entrance. A brand new opening—Ardyn could fit at least three fingers in it, as far as his knuckles. Even further. The entrance led somewhere deep inside of him, a place Ardyn honestly could not fathom. And, the flesh around the opening moved to accommodate him. 

He could feel the inner walls of that hole. Wet and warm around his fingers.Throbbing, sensitive…like a…

He ran out of the shower and called Noctis immediately. It just so happened the king was in a meeting with the council at that moment, but Ardyn tersely demanded his husband return to their room. No exceptions.

This had to be some new omega thing. Obviously. But what? Seven hells below, what else did this body have in store for him? Would he be growing his own pair of tits anytime soon? 

(Actually, better not summon such thoughts. Especially since this new addition to his body was rather…feminine in nature.) 

Ardyn was sitting naked on the bed when Noctis came in. For a moment, the alpha thought something was very wrong. The air in the room smelled sour with nerves.

“What is it?” Noctis asked right away, not even angry about being dragged shamefully from his council. He sat down next to Ardyn and huffed his marked scent gland—the beautiful scar Noctis loved looking at whenever they were alone together and his husband actually allowed him to. 

Wordlessly, Ardyn spread his legs and showed him. His face was dead serious. Inscrutable. He kept his dynamic senses alert, watching and waiting for a change in Noctis’s scent. A sign of fear or surprise or…anything.

As soon as Noctis saw it, he gasped loudly, reaching out and covering it with his palm. 

“Ardyn…” Noctis whispered. His blue eyes had gone wide. Deep. A world of feelings swimming within.

Okay, perhaps Noctis knew the meaning behind this madness. “What.”

Noctis swallowed to keep himself from crying. He really wanted to cry right now. He hadn’t cried in years, but this. They were actually doing this. It was…real! And Noctis knew he wasn’t ready, but he was so fucking excited.

“It means you’re…” Noctis’s nose reddened as tears pooled behind his eyes. 

Unable to read the electrical snaps of dynamic tension in the air, Ardyn grabbed his alpha’s shoulders. “ _What?_ ” 

“It means…” Noctis laughed, getting choked up. “…we did it.” Grinning stupidly, he held his husband’s hands in both of his own. 

“We’re going to have a baby.” 

All the color drained from Ardyn’s face. He felt his blood go cold. A mix of disbelief and terror. He was…his body was…? 

Shit. Nausea rose in his stomach. Dots swarmed his line of sight. It was hard to see or think for a few minutes. He might need to… Without comment, Ardyn leaned over the side of the bed. He was going to vomit. Eos on high, his hands were shaking and sweating. Everything felt strange. Bright and sharp, too much to process all at once. 

Noctis laid down on Ardyn’s back, wrapping his arms around the older man’s chest. Sniffing back his tears, he crooned in a long, steady stream. Low and heavy. Comforting.

Ardyn closed his eyes. Listening. His body was still cold and panicked, unable to handle the multitude of feelings coursing through him. How…had it happened so fast? Ardyn couldn’t believe it. Now? He was already…?

No. He shook his head and shut down all other thoughts and feelings. He just needed to listen to the lulling sound of his alpha’s voice. Focus on that, nothing else. He could feel the vibrations in his back. The rumbling in his ears, searching for the spot in his omega instincts that wanted to be comforted. That longed for Noctis’s voice.

With everything else gone, Ardyn slowly relaxed. He leaned his weight on Noctis’s arms. Calm and quiet.

“It’ll be okay,” Noctis said quietly. “We’ll do this.”

Ardyn nodded silently. 

“…yes,” he answered after a while. 

Then, he stared at his own stomach. There was a child in there, he realized. Suddenly growing. Using Ardyn’s own life essence to exist…

He placed a hand over his abdomen. 

Alright. They would do this.

________________________________________________

A trip to the Citadel doctor revealed that Ardyn evidently missed all the health education videos people normally had to watch in junior high school. More accurately, the former immortal did not know the first thing about pregnancy. Not even how a male omega’s body changed in the most basic way—the doctor frowned when Ardyn asked if the new addition to his anatomy would be permanent. 

Noctis nodded when the doctor raised an eyebrow in his direction. 

How did he explain that Ardyn was raised in something like the Dark Ages? A time when medical knowledge about omegas was a taboo subject? 

Instead of going there, Noctis just said, “…Yeah.”

Taking a deep breath, the doctor turned back to Ardyn. “Um, no. A male omega’s vagina will only appear during pregnancy. It comes and goes as needed. A curious thing, to be sure. But a fact of an omega’s biology.” 

Alright. So that was one question answered. Now, on to the next thousand. 

Over the past week, since he realized he was pregnant, Ardyn had begun feeling weaker. He tired more easily now. Went to bed earlier and took naps throughout the day. In the mornings, his body was wracked with nausea. Uncontrollably so. If Ardyn did not get something in his stomach, he might vomit before he even reached the bathroom. And the only things his stomach seemed to be able to tolerate were white rice and dry crackers. So, Ignis put a supply of crackers in the nightstand and made sure to have a fresh batch of white rice for Ardyn at every meal. In case the older man could not keep anything else down.

“An influx of hormones, yes,” the doctor explained. For the first time in his career. “Most people can expect a degree of nausea when they’re pregnant.” 

“Really.” Ardyn pursed his lips. He had not known about that before agreeing to this whole thing in the first place…the nausea and sickness really wore on him. Some days he just wanted to crawl back to bed and rest. Sip some light brewed tea and munch on crackers. These days, that sounded like a wonderful way to spend his time. 

He had thought he was just getting lazy. But apparently that level of laziness was a part of this? (Not that Ardyn minded a little bit of sloth. Now and then. But not every day! Especially when he had other things to do!)

Taking a deep breath, Ardyn rested a hand on his stomach and reminded himself of the small life inside. It was in there now. And he wanted this, truly. So no going back. He needed to see this through to the end. 

It wouldn’t be so terrible. After all, he had learned how to live with daemons. 

He tried to reach for the baby’s consciousness. As if the baby were another daemon that had taken root inside him. Left to his own explanations, Ardyn thought that perhaps he would be able to commune with the baby’s feelings and desires. Maybe even hear a scrambled sentience, like the one he had lived with for centuries. 

Of course, he heard nothing. Probably because the baby was only a few weeks old.

“How long does the nausea last?” Ardyn asked.

“Everyone’s different,” the doctor answered. He finished preparing Ardyn for an ultrasound. “Some people get it only in the first trimester. Others say they dealt with it their whole pregnancy.” 

Ardyn balked. “The whole time?” He glanced at Noctis in exasperation. His eyes said it all: Was this just going to be a series of horrible inconveniences? “Well, how long does the pregnancy itself usually last?”

The doctor and Noctis shared looks again. Then they calmly explained to Ardyn that a typical human pregnancy lasted nine months. 

“ _Nine…?_ ” Ardyn sat up on the examining table, jostling the doctor’s sonogram equipment. 

Feeling Noctis’s hands on his shoulders, he let himself lie back so they could finish the procedure. But he needed to close his eyes and recenter. 

He tried again for the baby’s thoughts. Maybe he could convince the tiny being to arrive a little earlier. Once it was old enough to communicate back to him, that was. 

He wondered when that would be…

The doctor felt around Ardyn abdomen, searching for something. “Ah, there it is,” he said finally, pressing the handheld device near the side of Ardyn’s pelvis.

“That’s the heartbeat.”

Sure enough, they could hear it. Like a thousand galloping horses—fast as fuck but so, so small. Barely louder than a dull thumping. 

Still, it was there. Quite clearly. 

“That’s it…?” Noctis asked. He pointed to a black spot on the computer screen. 

“Yes indeed.” Smiling, the doctor zoomed in so they could see it better.

It hardly looked human. Just a twisted little semi-circle. More like a tadpole than anything else. 

“I’d say you’re about seven weeks,” the doctor appraised. “Maybe eight. Since it’s difficult to say when male omegas first conceive. Their vaginas start to form around four weeks, but it’s basically a guessing game…” 

“Ardyn…” Noctis gripped his husband’s hand as hard as he could. “That’s it. That’s our baby. Do you see it?” 

His alpha’s nose was getting red again. Ardyn had come to associate that with times when Noctis became emotional over all this. Ardyn tolerated it, although he wished that his hormones weren’t so out of control. And that he wasn’t so susceptible to Noctis’s crackling scent. Because more often than not, Noctis dragged Ardyn into whatever he was feeling. Then they both got caught up in the moment. 

Fighting back the surge of raw feelings, Ardyn narrowed his eyes at the machine. He took in every detail about the small fetus, committing the sight to memory. He wanted a picture in his head to imagine whenever he thought about this being in his stomach.

From the looks of it, the baby was just big enough for a minuscule circulatory system. So, no nerves and definitely no brain activity. Not yet.

No wonder it couldn’t hear him. 

___________________________________________

Around five months in, Ardyn was utterly miserable. His body was huge. Bloated and weary to the bone. The doctor prescribed a multitude of vitamins and plenty of bed rest, stating that it was likely Ardyn could miscarry if he exerted himself too much. Pregnancies of this kind were a fragile thing, and Ardyn’s advanced age certainly did not help.

Generally, Ardyn hated the idea of being ‘fragile.’ A month or two was okay, but _nine_? And he was only a little more than halfway out!

This was getting impossible.

Most days Ardyn laid in bed and tried to keep his mind occupied. If his body had become nothing more than an incubator for some tiny alien life, then at least he could keep his brain sharp. He read books upon books—even began _journaling_ (a thing that he openly laughed at when the doctor suggested it). But, miracle of miracles, writing down his thoughts actually did help Ardyn stay sane. He could write how angry he was at the state of himself. How secretly (and not-so-secretly) excited he was to see this child someday (hopefully sooner rather than later). As well as his random thoughts and ideas. He wrote across whole books in fact—and Ignis always brought more blank journals for him.

Some days Ardyn had company. Gladiolus and Prompto visited him in the Citadel. And Ignis, of course. He still sat in the gardens with Regis some days when he was feeling up to it. Naturally everyone was ridiculously excited for him and Noctis. Ardyn appreciated all the attention, but he also liked to talk about nondescript things. Regis was a big help with that. They swapped stories of the past, like always.

Ardyn could not help noticing: Regis’s entire face lit up whenever he looked at Ardyn these days. The elderly man glowed with pride, almost all the time now. Obviously he could not wait to become a grandfather. 

Once he even told Ardyn, “I really don’t know what I’ve done to deserve happiness like this. Such wonderful times. I’d thought…” Regis trailed off for a moment, frowning. But he recovered quickly, smiling again. “…well, it’s a tremendous relief to able to see this. My son and his family.”

He changed the subject after a beat. “Ah, well. What was that about the Rogue Queen you were telling me yesterday?” 

Most days, Ardyn just felt like shit. Huge, useless shit. The worst kind. 

He continued to have no luck communicating with the baby’s nascent consciousness. Such a constant source of frustration—especially since he could see the baby’s brain in all the sonogram photos! Why couldn’t he hear it? Even before he taught himself how to make sense of the daemon’s thoughts and translate them into words, Ardyn was always aware of their desires. Their babbling hung around the edge of his awareness. At all times.

Was something wrong? 

But the doctor assured him that the baby was developing healthily. No problems so far. Ardyn kept his wonderings to himself, deciding that he would find some other way to speak to this new life.

Because yes. There were…signs. Not voices, not a consciousness per se, but…a presence. 

Ardyn could feel the baby moving around. In the early mornings and late at night, the baby liked to do somersaults in Ardyn’s stomach. Turning and turning. Rousing Ardyn from any kind of sleep or relaxation. Maybe that was a sign it was hungry? Either way, Ardyn always got up and ate some crackers or dried fruit when the baby became restless. Shortly after he ate, it calmed down. So he supposed he was reading that stimulus correctly.

There were other things too. Ardyn felt the baby kicking like crazy every time he ate certain foods. Especially sweet things, like Ignis’s pastries. Did that mean it enjoyed those things? How could it even taste? Ardyn did not know, but he could predict the child’s kicking down to a science. 

In a way, it all made sense. Unlike the Scourge, babies were a physical presence. A body inside another body. Perhaps human children did not communicate with their parents through shared consciousness, but rather shared living space. They were one being, after all. In every way. Ardyn taught himself to listen to what his baby wanted by listening to his own body. 

Truthfully, it was nice to have another presence inside him again. After a few years without. Familiar and…it helped with the strange brand of loneliness Ardyn experienced once the Scourge fully healed.

He grew attached to the child. In his own way. 

The baby seemed to be able to recognize Noctis’s presence. Sometimes it would be kicking and kicking—jabbing its tiny hands and feet against Ardyn’s ribs or his bladder. Happily making a nuisance of itself. Then, Noctis would walk in the room. He would see the look of discomfort on Ardyn’s face and immediately kneel down to lay his cheek on his husband’s protruding stomach. 

“Shhh…” Noctis whispered against the tight flesh on Ardyn’s belly. “Take it easy, kiddo.” 

Like magic, the baby’s ceaseless flailing came to a stop. Sometimes Ardyn needed Noctis to do this just so he could get some rest. And of course, Noctis was happy to help. He loved Ardyn’s belly, after all. More like, he was obsessed with it. Could not get enough. Noctis could lay gently against the bulge for hours, whispering quiet things to their unborn child. Humming. Trying to explain small facts about the world, the Caelum family, the names of their pack mates, and so on. Pointless because the child could not hear him (Ardyn knew that best of all) but he didn't question it. Noctis’s voice held special sway.

The child knew its father, apparently. 

Plus, Ardyn liked when Noctis massaged the aching flesh around his stomach. It felt nice. Noctis spent evenings rubbing oil on his stomach, trying to make Ardyn as comfortable as possible. The alpha would kiss every inch of his husband’s stretched out belly, soothing baby and papa alike with his lips. Even though his beard and mustache scratched a bit.

Their moments spent doting over the tiny life inside Ardyn were spectacularly intimate. Quiet and happy. Mutually shared. A unique bonding experience.

Which was good, considering Ardyn was entirely too uncomfortable to want sex. His heats had stopped since getting pregnant and his libido fell by the wayside once he gained close to ten pounds. He felt too bloated to move, let alone think about having sex in any capacity. 

Besides, there was absolutely no way this body would be appealing to Noctis. Not anymore. Huge and ungainly. Ardyn hardly wore clothes anymore; just a loose fitting robe and some stretchy pants. The only things he felt comfortable in. 

Not to mention, the constant doctors visits. Talking about how often he went to the bathroom and what came out—all in front of his husband. These were not exactly the sexiest conversations in the world. But they were necessary for the health of the baby and Noctis never seemed embarrassed. Just appropriately worried or pleased, as it came up. 

Ardyn loved Noctis more than anything in the world. He only hoped they could get back to where they had been before the pregnancy; a place where they found each other attractive. 

One night towards the beginning of the third trimester was especially difficult. Ardyn had been sleeping poorly for days. The baby woke him up more frequently throughout the night. Demanding crackers and fruit at twenty minute intervals. Also, Ardyn could not find a comfortable laying position. On his back, the baby pressed against his spine. It was dangerous to lay on his stomach because the child could be squished. So that left laying on either side. But sometimes the baby slid into his other organs that way…and so Ardyn had to prop himself up against a mountain of pillows. Just sitting. No hope of sleep. 

And he had started to sweat profusely from time to time. Excessive hormones, the doctor said. Not uncommon for male omegas. Overcompensation or something. As a result, Ardyn soaked through his clothes in a few hours. He needed to change frequently and even then, he was constantly in a state of just…wetness and fog. Swampy and swollen. His feet were now bloated as well. 

“Remind me…” Ardyn groaned, after inadvertently waking Noctis for the umpteenth time as he writhed around on their bed. “Why did we want to do this, again?” 

It was some ungodly hour in the night. Noctis rubbed his eyes and sat up, looking blearily at his husband. He knew, of course, that as many times as he had been woken up, Ardyn probably hadn’t slept in days.

So, Noctis went through his usual list of questions. “What do you need? More snacks? Change of clothes? Some more pillows? Belly rub? What else…?”

“No, no. Nothing.” Ardyn threw all his clothes off, choosing to lay on the bed naked for some measure of comfort. (There was a time when that would have been sexy.) 

Noctis brushed the sweaty hair away from his husband’s face. “You sure? Maybe just an ice pack for your head, help you cool off?” 

“No, it’s fine. Won’t last.” Heaving a defeated sigh, Ardyn asked the question again. “Just help me remember, Noct. We’re having this child because…?” 

“Uh, because it’s the most awesome thing in the world?” Noctis kissed Ardyn’s burning cheek and nuzzled his neck. Crooning softly. 

Ardyn huffed indignantly. “Awesome for whom?” 

“Both of us. Come on, I know it sucks right now, but just think.” Noctis gently put his hand on Ardyn’s stomach. “We’re going to have our own baby and it’s gonna look like you and me…it’s gonna run around and play…and it’s going to love us. A lot, probably.”

“Yes, well.” Ardyn squirmed in his seat, trying to adjust the baby into a more central position. “Can you tell this child to hurry it along? You and that magic voice of yours? Tell it time is precious and my patience is wearing thin.” 

“Okay.” Noctis got into position. His lips hovered just above Ardyn’s stretched out stomach. “Hey, baby. You gotta come out soon, alright? Pick up the pace. Daddy can’t wait to see you. And…Papa’s getting grumpy.” 

“I’m not—…ugh.” Swatting his husband away, Ardyn cursed under his breath. “I’m not grumpy. I’m miserable. There’s a difference.” 

Noctis’s blue eyes filled with sympathy. “I know. I’m sorry you have to go through this, Ardyn. But…I think you’re pretty amazing. Just for doing this.”

Not expecting that, Ardyn snorted. “What do you mean?”

The alpha shrugged. “Don’t know. You’re dealing with all the crappy stuff. And you’re just…handling it. Like every new thing that comes up—and it’s been a lot, I know—you kind of just sigh and then accept it. One more thing to live with.” Noctis paused for a moment, scratching his fuzzy chin. “I don’t know if…I mean, if it was reversed and I was the one who got pregnant…I don’t know if I could do it.” 

A satisfied smile spread over Ardyn’s lips. The first in a while. “I’m sure you could handle it, Noct. _Chosen One_.” They both laughed. “But, I appreciate the sentiment all the same.”

Noctis kissed Ardyn on the lips quickly. “Really. I give you a lot of respect for doing this, babe. It’s amazing. And I love you even more than I did before. So now it’s almost too much.” He peppered kisses all along Ardyn’s chest and stomach. 

Ardyn chuckled. He buried his fingers in Noctis’s hair, a way to get closer. “Good to know the love hasn’t died. Even if the passion has.” 

Stopping his kisses, Noctis glanced up at Ardyn with a frown. “Huh?” 

“Just…” Ardyn rubbed his forehead. He felt awkward bringing all this up, but it was probably for the better. Sometimes the soul bond between them just wasn’t enough. “…I know that you haven’t been able to enjoy my body the way we used to. Because I’m…like this.” 

He gestured to his whole body. 

“And yes.” Ardyn nodded grimly. “I miss it too.” 

It took Noctis a few minutes to think of a response. He looked more taken aback than Ardyn expected—maybe not ready to talk about this. Perhaps Ardyn should have waited to start this conversation after all…

“Ardyn.” Noctis stared deeply into his husband’s golden eyes. “Are you serious? Really, are you fucking with me or are you telling me how you honestly feel?”

Ardyn held up his hands to show how candid he was being. “This is my full truth, love. Naturally.”

All at once, Noctis rolled his eyes and sighed. He flopped his face onto Ardyn’s stomach dramatically.

“You’re kidding me. You can’t think that’s how I feel about you right now.” 

“Well…” Ardyn began again. “It must be…difficult for you. Seeing me several tons heavier, persistently moist, and…” He gestured to his lower half artlessly. “…basically a woman in some parts. Hardly what you signed up for, I’m sure.”

Noctis sat up slowly, shaking his head in complete shock. “I can’t believe this. That’s what you’ve been thinking this whole time? Don’t you know that I’m, like…” 

He ran his hands down Ardyn’s swollen body wordlessly.

“That you’re what?” 

Noctis pressed a reverent kiss to Ardyn’s distended navel. “Ardyn, I’m more attracted to you than I’ve ever been.”

Ardyn shook his head and laughed heartily. “Oh, Noct. You can’t be serious. Me, like this? And you…?” 

“Don’t laugh,” Noctis replied, flicking out his tongue to lick Ardyn’s belly button. “It’s the truth. And honestly, it’s…kind of a problem sometimes.” 

At that, the omega stopped laughing. He knew that Noctis was having a ‘problem,’ that usually meant he was struggling to keep his primal sexual urges in check. 

“Do tell.”

A hazy curtain of lust fell visibly over Noctis’s face. He stared at Ardyn with bedroom eyes, licking lazily down his husband’s abdomen. Tonguing the soft, dense patch of crimson hair below. 

“Every time I look at you, Ardyn…” Noctis inhaled the heady scent gathered between his husband’s legs. The place he loved best. “…I get so turned on. Like, _ridiculously_ turned on. Almost like I’m in rut, except this is every time we’re together. And even sometimes when we’re not. I could be doing other things but then I think of you for no reason. It gets me….so fucking hot.” 

He buried his nose against the base of Ardyn’s cute cock (it had grown even smaller over the course of the pregnancy, yet another temporary change, functionally the size of a very large clitoris at this point). Growling in instinctual desire, Noctis wrapped his mouth around the small manhood. He took it between his teeth and rolled his tongue around the tip, already tasting some pearly liquid that escaped.

Ardyn's whole body froze. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. 

That…

…was _insanity_. 

His cock—what was left of it—had somehow became more sensitive than ever. Hilariously sensitive, beyond what Ardyn felt even in heat. It was as if his member had shrunken until all that remained were the most receptive nerve endings. The barebones of a cock—flesh that could barely stand to be touched. 

Noctis sucked once, just moved his lips over the bundle of nerves like he was sucking on the edge of a straw, and Ardyn came. 

Actually…came. 

It was not like any other orgasm he had ever experienced. Only a small bit of semen came out. Not much to really speak of. But still, the force of that orgasm sent him reeling. Wave after wave of unspeakable pleasure rolled over his swollen body. It all went straight to his head somehow and the only thing Ardyn could do was moan in a low, distant voice. Every inch of his body tingled and twitched. 

Noctis pulled away, licking his lips. “Can I do that again?”

Forcing his mouth to form speech, Ardyn cried, “Yes!” 

Fuck, why hadn’t they been doing this in the first place!? This was an inhuman level of pleasure. Not of this world—

Noctis sucked his pocket-sized cock again and Ardyn climaxed without pause. This time it was so intense tears sprang to his eyes. Holy fucking…he could feel the aftershocks of that orgasm traveling up and down across his muscles. These climaxes—if they could even be called that, actually they felt more like seizures—were all about muscle contractions.

Those tremors eased Ardyn’s distraught body. They gave him a feeling of satisfied euphoria. At last. Some relief.

“One more?” Noctis asked.

“Yes, again…” Ardyn was getting greedy now. But, too much of a good thing was…well, as the expression went.

“How about this?"

Noctis licked a short line down Ardyn’s miniature ballsack until he reached the unfamiliar slit. Far from daunted, Noctis stuck his tongue just inside the fold. Hecurled the tip of his tongue against the rim, massaging the entrance of Ardyn’s vagina with love and devotion.

“Oh…oh..!” Ardyn squealed (he wished he could think of a more dignified term for it, but that’s what it was). 

That place…! The part of him Ardyn generally liked to pretend didn’t exist. Technically it didn’t; it was only for now after all. However, there was new information to consider! Apparently that unexplored part of his body was so obscenely sensitive. Vulnerable to the gentlest licks. He felt something like an orgasm wash over him again, just from the attention Noctis was paying to his slit. 

An interesting problem arose. How was Ardyn supposed to know when he was actually cumming? If there was no physical release, then…was he just supposed to feel it?

Whatever. Ardyn held the bottom of his stomach to try and keep the baby still as his body helplessly rocked through another sweet crash of sensation. 

“Noctis…how….?” he managed to say, digging his fingers into Noctis’s scalp as his husband ate him out. “How are you alright with this…?” 

Drawing his face backward, Noctis wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. Was there…slick in that part of him as well? Some kind of natural wetness? Just like…? 

“Babe. How could I _not_ be okay with this?” Noctis kissed the tip of Ardyn’s manhood again. “I see this…and this…” He liked the older man’s vagina affectionately. “and…it’s like I’ve never seen anything so beautiful before in my life.” 

There it was. Another wave of hormones wreaking havoc on his body. Ardyn gritted his teeth and let himself feel it. Just ride it out. Even though he felt like he might cry. Nothing to do except wait for it to pass.

“Because…” Noctis continued. He gladly nuzzled Ardyn’s reformed anatomy. “I know that I’m the one who did this to you. I made you like this. I changed you and…gave you a baby. _Our_ baby. I put that inside you.” 

He tickled Ardyn’s entrance with his tongue. “This right here? This part of you is _mine_. I’m the only one who gets to have it…and that’s…oh gods, I could come in my pants just thinking about that.” 

Ardyn twitched. Becoming more useless by the second. 

But what did that matter? He wanted to listen to Noctis. The beautiful man in front of him, licking him, worshipping him…all the strange places on his body. Everything. Ardyn just wanted Noctis right now.

Noctis peered down at his omega with a strange expression. The kind of glossy eyed dominance he usually only had during a rut. “I should fuck you right now. Maybe I’ll even fuck that sexy little hole of yours and put another baby inside you. Just for fun. What do you think?” 

The alpha sat up on his knees and unzipped his pants, showing his husband how hard he was for him. As well as the burgeoning knot already beginning to form.

Ardyn lost all coherence when he saw that. To know that Noctis still wanted him—even ruined like he was now, his body so pregnant and unfamiliar—was too much. 

He reached up and spread his legs, beckoning Noctis closer with both hands. “Noct…oh, yes….you can. Take me, just like this, as many times as you want…” 

Noctis growled with animalistic need. 

Of course, they couldn’t actually have sex that way. Noctis’s knot might hurt the baby. But, the thought was enough. Imagining being intimate in a brand new way…well, it had become clear, to everyone involved, that the passion was certainly not dead.

Noctis rubbed his cock against Ardyn’s lower half. Rutting against his omega’s tiny cock and balls, sliding the tip of his huge manhood against Ardyn's hidden entrance…everywhere. Whispering all the things he wanted to do to him. Fill him with so many babies Ardyn wouldn't be able to walk. Make Ardyn come every time he gave birth, until the older man actually craved it. 

Impossible things, but it didn’t matter. Noctis’s voice had the same effect on Ardyn that it did on their child. It soothed him and put him in a place where he could finally let himself go.

Soon enough, Noctis found his own release.

After that night, Noctis added “going down on you” to the list of things he could do to make Ardyn feel better.

His husband utilized that option the most from then on.

______________________________________

In the eighth month, they picked names. Cara if it was a girl, Karus if it was a boy. Two forms of the word “beloved.” The gender would remain unknown until birth because they did not want to risk any unnecessary complications by going through the procedure to find out. Ardyn’s pregnancy was still a precarious one.

“Tell me, which do you want?” Ardyn asked one night when he and Noctis were laying side by side. Meaning, a boy or a girl.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Noctis answered right away. “As long as they’re healthy. And everyone’s safe. That’s all I want.”

It was impossible not to think of Aulea. After all, she had died from childbirth complications. Ardyn knew how heavily that fear weighed on Noctis. He was afraid too, though in a different way. As far as he was concerned, all he cared about was making sure Noctis had someone—either himself or his child—with him when this was done. At least one piece of their soul bond to hang onto. 

They both knew the risks. They had known since the beginning.

But it was a little more real now.

________________________________________

Ardyn knew the second he went into labor. A rush of wetness and harsh pain. 

They rushed him to the delivery room of a small hospital just outside the Citadel. Exactly as planned. 

Tensions were high, of course. Ardyn’s most of all.

He had been expecting pain…but not _this_ much pain. Like the child was trying to rip open his entire lower half just to make its escape. Which, essentially, it was. 

Many harsh words were spoken that day. Ardyn declared his hatred for Noctis, denouncing his husband and everything he stood for, screaming about how it was Noctis who put him there. The former immortal vowed vengeance—for real this time—and swore he would never let himself get tricked again by a pretty-faced alpha with a big cock. 

Yes. Harsh words.

But Noctis stood by Ardyn’s side through it all. “I know,” he kept saying. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Okay. Just breathe…breathe…” He held onto Ardyn’s hand, grimacing in sympathetic pain as he watched. 

Karus was born after three hours of labor. Pretty fast by most standards. There were no complications. Ardyn managed a clean, quick birth. And a healthy newborn son. 

As soon as they placed the baby in Ardyn’s arms, everything else fell away. Karus was a small, red mound of flesh. Squirming and blinking. But he was breathing. He was alive—they both were.

Ardyn instantly bonded with his son. It was a similar connection to his mated pair bond, but unique in its own way. Ardyn knew he shared a good portion of his own soul with Karus. That he used his own life essence to make this child. That Karus was physical proof of the strength of his and Noctis’s love. That they were now all bonded. In a deep, unbreakable way. Even in death. It wouldn’t matter. They were all part of the same patchwork soul. Like a woven blanket.

Ardyn cradled his son and pressed him close to his chest.

“Hello there, beautiful boy. Welcome to the world.”

“It’s a pretty good world,” Noctis added, peering down at Karus with so much pride he could barely keep himself in one piece.

“Yes.” Ardyn gently kissed his son’s forehead. “And the best part is, we get to share it.”

_________________________________________________

After Karus was born, Ardyn swore he would never have another child. They had been infinitely blessed with one healthy baby and that was more than enough. Besides, there was no way—no force in the Astral Realm or hell itself that could make Ardyn go through the pain of pregnancy again.

…Three years later they gave birth to another child. A daughter. This time they decided to forego the Latin name tradition altogether and simply named her Hope. 

Just as Noctis promised, their children were a curious mix of both their features. Karus had vibrant red hair—wild from the moment he came out of the womb—and a face-shape that generally mimicked Ardyn’s own. Except for the lips. He had his father’s lips. And his eyes were the most breathtaking shade of blue, as crystalline as Noctis’s, filled with a curiosity that neither of his parents would be able to slate in the years to come.

Hope was the opposite. She was the spitting image of Noctis, from her jet black hair to every last detail of her face, and even her lithe body. With one very important exception: She had Ardyn’s eyes. Golden and dangerous. Smart, but not wise. Bewitching. Friendly when she wanted, cutting when she didn’t. For that, Ardyn couldn’t be more proud of her. 

And so, they made a family. 

Yes. It was a pretty good world. Not without its trials, but so it was. Life and happiness. The ups and downs. They got to experience everything. 

Together.

 

 

~~The end~~

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Ardyn. I guess they don't have epidurals in this universe O__O...
> 
> And that's it! Everyone's married with kids! Isn' it niceeee ;)
> 
> Thinking about maybe expanding this universe into some other pairings....a few rare pairs in mind. So I'll leave the series incomplete for now.
> 
> Hope you liked this crazy romp! Because I sure did. :D :D :D 
> 
> Love to hear from you guys [on tumblr](https://jeejascoffee.tumblr.com/)!


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